An Unexpected Connection
by navycorpsman
Summary: A team of women, known as THE LITTLE WOMEN, come over to help Sgt. Scream and his fire team, but among the women is an unxepected vistior with a connection to Scream.
1. The Little Women

The day started off normal enough for the newly famous "Little Women" fire team. Half-Pint started the truck, Shark took her spot in the front of the Humvee, and the rest climbed in the back with the unit they called the "Eye Candy Shoppe Fire Team." With the word, off they went. _Another day; another shit mission._ Half-Pint thought. She hated being a woman. She envied Angel. _Not only does he get to see all the war action, he gets to shoot._  
Half-Pint grew up the daughter of a Ranger sniper and wanted her whole life to be one. _But I can't. I have to be a female. Of all the cursed luck! _ While she was bemoaning her fate in her head, an explosion rocked the lead Humvee. "SHIT!" She screamed and swerved her Humvee to the left to avoid a collision. The unit jumped out quickly as gunfire exploded out of nowhere.

She looked to her left and saw Angel kneeling. "You okay, Half-Pint?"

"I'm fine. Just wondering about Snickers and Ace Ventura in the lead Humvee." By the looks of it, she knew that it would be a miracle if anyone made it out of the Humvee alive, but she didn't have time to think about it.

"Goddamnit!" Scream yelled. Half-Pint looked him as he calmly fired his weapon. It was as though this was just another training exercise to him. "Angel, goddamnit, find Smoke and see what you can do about the Humvee."

Angel took off. "Half-Pint, you better be firing your weapon before I shoot your ass myself!" Half-Pint just leaned against the wheel. "Goddamnit, Half-Pint, did you hear me?"

"I heard you." She calmly raised her shotgun and fired the weapon behind Scream.

"What the fuck?" Scream yelled. "Shoot in the same goddamn direction as everyone else!"

Half-Pint shrugged. "Sure thing, Sarge. Just remember the enemy also attacks from behind. So, I'll just shoot in the way you're shooting and let them shoot our fucking asses."

Scream shot her one of his famous "You're lucky we're in a fucking gunfight otherwise I'd kick your ass right now." looks. "I see you learned a lot from Shark on how to be a fucking good Soldier."

Half-Pint looked at Scream. "What? You wanna die? I'll let you fuck…" A soft sound to her left caused Half-Pint to turn. In her last unit, she had the nickname of Tiger because of her hearing and viciousness when provoked in gunfire. She could hear a feather drop in a pile of other feathers, they'd say. "Angel," she whispered. "Do you see him?"

"Yeah, I see him, alright."

"What do you make of it?" Half-Pint raised her gun.

"Doesn't matter what's to be made of it. We gotta take him out." Smoke retorted.

Ignoring Smoke, Angel looked at Half-Pint. "You got a clear shot?"

"No. Not yet." Half-Pint steadied her gun. She loved this part of war. It wasn't that she loved killing people; she just loved knocking off the bad guys before they knocked one of her squad off. She knew that if this guy wasn't killed, more American Soldiers would lose their lives. After losing Maverick, she didn't want to lose anymore. She also knew that Angel was beside her and if she couldn't hit him, he would. "He's smart, Angel. He knows we want to kill him."

"If he were smart, he wouldn't be out here." Scream quietly retorted.

"I mean, Staff, he's not holding still long enough for me or Angel to get an accurate site on him." Half-Pint snapped at Scream. "Finally." She said as the man stopped to take aim at the team. "Go to Allah, friend." She pulled the trigger and the man went down like a bag of bricks. She looked at Scream. "And yeah, oh sarcastic one, Shark DID teach me a thing or two about being a Soldier. What do you've got against it?"

Scream looked at Half-Pint. He admired her fire and was rather impressed that she learned from Shark on how to be a good, effective Soldier. Not to mention shot. "Angel, Smoke, come with me. The rest of you stay here." Smoke, Scream, and Angel approached the fallen man with caution.

"Holy shit, man!" Smoke smarted. "Girl capped his ass. Look at that shot, Sarge."

"I see the shot. Now let's move out." Scream moved.

Smoke looked at Angel. "That girl shoots as well as you do, bro."

Angel said nothing. He didn't care much for war and all he wanted to do more than anything was do what he came to do and get home safe. He climbed into the back of the Humvee and looked at the mini Soldier. "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

Tariq grinned. "I bet she learned at church camp too."

Angel sarcastically glared at Tariq. "Where did you learn?"

Half-Pint only smiled. She had come to learn the men in the Army were chauvinistic in their way of thinking and she knew this young group wouldn't really believe her if she said her dad, the Ranger sniper taught her. "My dad." And she left it at that.

Dim smiled at her. "So, what? Your dad in the Mafia or something?"

Half-Pint smiled. "Nah. Just a hunter."

Angel looked at her. "Hunters may have good aim, but you hit him in the eye. Ain't no hunter I ever knew could do that."

Before she could stop, Half-Pint blurted out "One Shot. One Kill. I Decide. No Remorse."

Scream snapped his head around to her. "Where'd you learn that?"

"Learn what?" Half-Pint played innocent.

"The Snipers Motto. Where'd you learn that?"

"The Discovery Channel." Half-Pint grinned.

"Bullshit." Scream looked at her. _I'll be damned if she isn't telling everything. You don't learn that shit from The Discovery Channel. _He eyed her up and down._ She's like me, to some degree, I'll wager a bet on that._


	2. Too Close For Comfort

Tariq sat still. He didn't know what he had just heard, but it scared the shit out of him. "What do you suppose it was, Angel?"

Angel shrugged. "Don't rightly know." Just then, a fireball light up the night. "SHIT!" Angel ducked.

Scream came running out with Shark behind him. "What was that? Everyone all right?"

Tariq laid on his back, staring at the stars. It was too close for comfort and knocked the wind out of him. "I'm fine, Sarge. Just a little breathless."

Scream raised his weapon. "Goddamnit! Angel, you come with me. Shark, you take Tariq where it's safer."

Tariq stood up and Shark watched Scream and Angel creep away. "Half-Pint! Spitfire! Get your asses out here! NOW!" The two young ladies ran to their Sergeant. "Go with Scream and Angel. Take care of them. They're going to need it."

Scream heard footsteps behind him and turned around. He lowered his gun when he saw it was Half-Pint and Spitfire. "What the fuck do you two want?"

Half-Pint bit her lip. She had this habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time in attempts to lighten the mood. "Shark told us to help you."

"Do we look like we need help?" Scream looked at Half-Pint.

"INCOMING!" Spitfire yelled and the group hit the deck. The RPG missed them by a few yards, but it sprayed sand all over. Spitfire stood up and looked at Scream. "Don't need help, do you? Would you have seen that RPG?"

"If I wasn't talking to you I would have, you Dumbass." He retorted.

"You have a problem with my Private, Staff?" Half-Pint challenged.

"No, with you, Specialist."

"I see." Half-Pint looked at Spitfire. "Maybe we should leave the macho men alone to do what it is that macho men do. After all, we all know that women are totally incapable of handling shit and protecting themselves." They walked off.

"Stop!" Angel yelled. "After your shot today, Half-Pint, it looks like you're the one protecting us." He looked at Scream. "They should help us out."

"Whatever." Scream walked off.

Half-Pint caught up. "What's your problem with me?"

Scream huffed. "You're lying."

Half-Pint stood still. "Lying, Staff?"

Scream faced her. "You don't learn shit like what you showed from watching The Discovery Channel and a hunter father. You learn it from experience."

"Did I ever say what type of hunter my dad was?" Half-Pint challenged. "All I said was he was a hunter. Never once said he hunted animals."

Scream looked at her with disbelief. "You mean to tell me that your father was…"

"A Green Beret." She headed off to the East, where she thought she saw some movement.

Scream followed. "Again, I say bullshit."

"Shut up, Staff!" Half-Pint softly yelled. "There's an insurgent over to the East." She raised and steadied her gun.


	3. The Unseen Connection

Lieutenant Hunter looked at Scream. "You mean to tell me that it was you that shot this young kid?"

Scream looked behind Underpants at Half-Pint. He swallowed hard. "Yes, sir. He posed a threat to me and my men. I thought…"

"Bullshit, Sergeant. You know this kid posed a threat to you as much I do." Half-Pint choked back a laugh. "You have a problem, Specialist?"

"No, sir."

"Then I suggest you shut your mouth." Underpants turned his attention to Scream again. "You fired your weapon without using caution."

"Sir, he posed a threat."

"He was a child."

"Should I bring up Vietnam, Lieutenant?" Half-Pint chimed in.

"I don't see what Vietnam has to do…"

"They used children to get close to our Soldiers. Knowing that Americans are compassionate when it comes to children, they knew our Soldiers would pick up and try their damndest to comfort a crying child. What our Soldiers didn't know was that the mothers would strap bombs to their children to kill the Soldiers. Our GI's wised up to that, sir, and began to kill kids they saw as a threat. They were well-schooled in what a suspicious child would look like, or what they would walk like and how they would be around the Soldiers. How did you think they got the nicknames 'Baby Killers?'" Half-Pint looked intently at Underpants. "If they did it back then, why wouldn't they do it now? After all, suicide bombers are usually around 15 or 16 years old. This kid was about that age. He was walking strangely. How were we to know, with the suspicious nature in which he was acting, that he was just a little kid who was lost?"

"You use your judgment."

"We did, sir, and now you're in here, reaming Sergeant Silas's ass for nothing. What is it, Sir, that you don't like about him?"

"I don't have a problem with Sergeant Silas." Underpants argued back.

Half-Pint grinned. "Oh, I think you do, sir."

Lieutenant Hunter got into Half-Pint's face. "I'll have you demoted to Private."

Underpants' threat had no desired affect on Half-Pint. "Demote me, then, Lieutenant." And, before she was dismissed by Underpants, Half-Pint calmly walked out of the tent.

Captain Baron listened intently to Lieutenant Hunter. "So, because she knew something you didn't and she questioned you, you want to demote her?"

Underpants nodded. "It was how she said it, sir."

Captain Baron crossed his arms. "Send her in. I'll talk to her." He sighed. He stood up when he saw Half-Pint enter. "Underpants wants to demote you." He leaned against the table. "How can I continue to help you when you keep screwing up?"

Half-Pint sighed. "Dad…I mean, Captain Baron. He was accusing Scream of something…"

"Courtney, I don't care." He sighed. He loved his only daughter, but wished she was more like her mother and less like him. "Why can't you be like your mom?"

"And be boring?" Courtney snapped back.

"Your mother isn't boring."

"Come on, Dad. You know Mom's pretty boring."

Captain Baron couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, she can be." He straightened up. "But, that is not what this is about. Lieutenant Hunter wants your head to roll and, honey, he's determined."

"Are you going to listen to Lieutenant Asshole over your daughter?" Half-Pint was far from being a crier, but she found herself close to tears.

Captain Baron took his daughter in his arms. "Of course not. I dislike him more than any of you. But, you're as hot-headed as I am." He went back to his desk. "But, I am going to have to discipline you. You've got to stop telling officers off. You let me do that." Baron sat back in his chair. "Does anyone know our relationship?"

Half-Pint shrugged. "I don't think so. I've not said anything, Dad."

Baron gave his daughter a quick hug. "I don't want to have any more of these conversations, understand?"

Half-Pint smiled. "Yes, Sir!"


	4. Truths

Tariq sat looking at the stars. "What's going on?" Half-Pint's voice caused Tariq to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Shit, Half-Pint." Tariq tried to stop shaking. "I'm just staring at the night sky, wondering when the next RPG is going to hit."

Half-Pint sat next to Tariq in the sand. "You shouldn't think of shit like that. You're a good Soldier, Nassiri. You'll get home just fine."

"Today, when that rocket hit, I thought I was gonna die." His voice softened. "I wasn't ready. I was scared." He looked at her. "I know it's not macho to be scared."

Half-Pint smiled. She had to get her dad to make sure that she was always in the same unit as Tariq Nassiri. She found him to be quite gorgeous. "It's okay to be scared. When my dad was in Somalia, he remembered someone saying that everyone gets scared. It's what you do when you're scared that is important."

"Yeah, but I…"

"You were knocked down by an RPG blast. What could you have done?"

"Half-Pint, a word?" Scream's voice broke their conversation.

"Yeah. See ya later, Nassiri?" Tariq nodded. "What is it now, Scream?"

"This whole time I've wondered why you looked so familiar and it hit me when you were telling Underpants off." He stopped and looked at her. "Your mother's last name was Mullany, right?" Half-Pint nodded. "I know who your dad is and he ain't no Green Beret. He was a Ranger and a sniper at that."

Half-Pint stopped. She smiled at Scream. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever recognize me. You just can't let on that you know. He's the reason I went by my mom's maiden name."

"I think he's anyone hardly to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed of him. I'm ecstatic to be serving with him. But, everyone knows him. My fucking recruiters did. So, I changed my name to my mom's so that I wouldn't be treated any different. I don't want any special treatment and Dad knows that. That's why…"

"I understand. But trust me, Half-Pint, I know nothing." Scream stopped and looked at her. "But then again, you already knew that."

Shark looked at Scream as he walked off. She caught up with him. "If you've got something to say to any of my girls, you clear it with me first."

Scream stopped and faced Shark. "What makes you think that I have to clear every damned thing with you?"

"She's a member of my team."

"And I'm the goddamned Platoon Sergeant, not you. If I need to talk to anyone, it is in my full right and job description to do so. Besides, I was complimenting her and in a roundabout way, I was complimenting you."

"Please, Scream. You know better."

"Soldiers respond to those in charge if they are treated with respect. It's obvious that your girls respect you and you respect them. They work like the team they are. There's no arguing or trying to…"

"Women tend to be more diplomatic."

"Save with Staff Sergeants they don't care for." Scream turned and walked into his tent. He heard the tent flaps open behind him. "Goddamnit, Shark. This is the men's tent."

"Like I've not seen balls before." She sarcastically pouted as she looked Scream up and down. "But then again, I don't know what you're so worried about. You ain't got any."

"Whew!" Smoke whistled.

"OUT!" Scream ordered.

"Why?" Shark challenged. "Not man enough to handle a woman?"

"No. Too much of one." Scream yelled back. He walked over to Shark and took her by the elbow. "You just can not burst in the men's tent like that and you don't ever say shit like that in front of my men again, you understand?"

"What are you going to do, Silas? Kick my ass like you did O'Neill's?"

Scream looked around before gently pushing Shark into a Humvee. "You know the story behind that. Better than anyone. But, you have got to stop treating me like a villain."

"You are."

"Why? Because I left?"

"Yeah. Because you left."


	5. More Truths

Scream wondered if his life was all a case of déjà vu. Here he was, yet again, sitting by the phone, wanting to make a phone call and not finding the courage. _How come I can be so goddamned brave on the battlefield, but when it comes to calling, I fucking chicken out?_ He thought as he tapped the phone card on the table. _I know I got to do this, but I can't. Not now. _ He walked out and gave his phone card to Smoke. "Call home, buddy."

Smoke just looked as Scream walked off into the night. "Yo, Dim. Did you see that? What's up Scream's ass?"

Dim shrugged. "Maybe it's Shark. They've been fight…" Dim looked at Smoke. "You weren't in the tent a few minutes ago when she confronted him and they left. You think there's more to them than meets the eye?"

Smoke half grinned. "There's a lot of shit here where it's more than meets the goddamn eye, I'll tell you that."

Shark twisted the ring on her finger. She missed Kevin so much. She saw Scream enter the lounge tent and she stood up to walk out, but Scream softly pushed her back down on the couch. "We've gotta talk, Jennifer."

"'Bout what?"

"You know what." Scream pulled up a chair and sat across from her. "Why do you blame me?"

"Because you're to blame." Shark felt the tears forming.

"I didn't kill him." Scream leaned in. "Why do you treat me as though I did?"

Shark looked up at him. "You didn't even try."

Scream sat back. "How the fuck would you know? I tried…"

"I spoke to Stephens. I spoke with Buckley. I spoke with Hallard. I spoke with Braydon. They all say the same thing, Chris. They all say you did nothing."

"I couldn't do anything. He was killed instantly." Scream stood up and tossed the chair. "Other than you, no one can understand how devastated I was at his loss."

"You didn't call."

"What was I going to say? You have always had this habit of holding me responsible for shit that I am NOT responsible for. I DIDN'T kill Kevin, Jen. It was the goddamned enemy."

Shark stood up. "He was in your unit. He came here the first time because of you, Chris. You were always his hero. He forever looked up to you and how do you repay him? YOU KILL HIM!"

Scream lost all patience. "I DID NOT KILL HIM! IT WAS A GODDAMNED IED, JENNIFER!" He looked back at her. "Every day I go out, I think of that day and what happened. I think that I should have done more. I try to go out and do my goddamned job so that none of these assholes get themselves blown to shit like Kevin did." Scream felt the tears forming. "Goddamnit, Jen. Kevin was one of my closest friends. Don't think that for one minute you were the only one that lost him."

"I lost a fiancée, Chris. What did you lose?" Shark was quiet.

Scream shrugged. "You know what I lost." He walked out. Dim and Smoke were standing there, mouths to the ground. "What the fuck are you looking at, assholes?"

"Nothing, Sergeant." Dim replied.

"Good. Now move." Scream shoved his way through the two shocked Privates.


	6. Rangers!

Half-Pint looked at Shark. "You alright? You seem a little saddened tonight."

Shark smiled. "I was thinking of an old friend."

"What's going on with you and Scream?"

"It's a long story and I just don't feel like talking about it." Shark sighed.

Suddenly Scream popped his head in the tent. "Let's move it! Got some enemy action ahead and there's a bunch of my brothers out there getting their asses shot at."

Shark and Half-Pint grabbed their gear and ran to the Humvees. Half-Pint looked at Shark. "I thought they wouldn't let women NEAR combat." She joked.

"You're not." Scream shouted. "You're merely hauling our asses there and then you're returning to base camp.

"Shit." Half-Pint sighed as she started the Humvee. "How come guys get all the fun?"

"You think this shit is fun?" Scream retorted. "Watching all your friends die and get maimed…you think it's fun?

"That's not what I meant, and you know it, Scream. I just had sitting on the sidelines." Half-Pint knew Scream understood. She grew up with Staff Sergeant Christopher Andrew Silas being around. _Shit. When I was 10, I had this crush on him. He was my first official crush._ She laughed in memory of writing in her diary "Courtney loves Chris" with a heart drawn around it. She even planned their wedding. Scream knew this and he thought it was cute that Captain Baron's only daughter had a crush, but it was just that: A crush. The more Half-Pint got to know Scream, the more she wondered if he was really human or just some half-man/half-android without emotion.

Without warning, the Humvee was suddenly hit by an IED and knocked on its side. _Again, the goddamned déjà vu shit! _ Scream hustled out, hoping to find everyone okay. "Sound off, assholes!" Scream shouted.

"Angel."

"Smoke."

"Dim."

"Spitfire."

"Twig."

"Warhorse."

"Shark."

"Half-Pint."

"Double Wide."

"Mrs. B."

Silence. "Goddamnit, Tariq! Fucking sound off." Scream shouted. Half-Pint could see in her mirror a Soldier motionless. Without thought, she rushed to him. "Dammit, Half-Pint! Stay low!"

She gently shook the shoulders. "Come on, Tariq. Come on, buddy. Open those lovely dark eyes of yours." She could hear him breathing so she knew he was alive. "Scream!" She yelled.

Scream ran over to her. "What is it?"

"Tariq, Staff."

Scream looked at Tariq. "He's okay, right? Tell me he's okay!" Scream seemed frantic. _This shit is just how Kev died. Tariq, if you die, so help me God, I'll fucking kill you!_

Half-Pint looked at Scream. "Yes, he's fine. He's alive, but he's been knocked hard. We've got to get him back and have Major Black look at him to make sure there's nothing serious."

Scream knew she was right, but he hated the thought of letting Tariq go back. He looked at her. "Fine. Get in Washburn's Humvee and take him back." He walked back to Shark. "Tariq was hit. He's fine, but you and your girls are going to get your wish. You get to see fucking combat."


	7. Scream?

"What happened?" Major Black asked as she looked at Tariq.

"Our Humvee was hit by an IED. This is the only injury, Sir." Half-Pint looked at the Major. Major Black was respected by everyone who knew her as being a fair officer who had risen through the ranks from Private to Major. Even Captain Baron admired the 25-year veteran.

Major Black wrote something down in a chart. "I'll need X-Rays, but he seems to have only suffered a minor concussion from what I can see." She looked at Half-Pint. "He'll be fine, Courtney. I'll make sure of it." Major Black smiled and left.

Half-Pint weakly smiled back. She looked at Tariq, who looked like he'd been in a fist–fight with the devil and lost. She couldn't explain her concern for the young man, but she couldn't leave.

"You okay?" Captain Baron's voice broke her thoughts.

"I'm fine, Captain. It's just PFC I'm a little concerned about."

Baron looked at him. "Shit. What happened? He looks bad."

"IED." She turned and faced her dad. "Dad, what happened with Scream in his first tour here? He sounded frantic and he looked like hell had just come."

Baron sighed. "Let's go get some chow." He walked out with his daughter beside him. "When Scream first came over, he was with the 2/75th Ranger Battalion. It was just a few days before they were supposed to head back to Kuwait to begin their out processing to go home. While on their way to a sweep of a village where rebels were known to be, their convoy was hit by an IED. Kevin Conners, probably Scream's best friend in the unit, was killed instantly in the blast from the IED. Scream never forgave himself for breaking a promise."

"A promise to who?" Half-Pint asked.

"He just broke a promise." Captain Baron smiled and lifted the flaps of the mess hall.

Scream yelled at Dim. "What the fuck are you thinking, dimwit?"

Dim stared at the Sarge. "I just…"

"Get your head out of your ass and move, goddamnit! Those are goddamn Rangers in there. They're the fucking best of the best and we have to fucking save their asses!"

"Sarge, you a Ranger." Smoke commented.

Scream glared at Smoke. "Thanks for the fucking information. I was wondering what the Ranger tab was doing on my goddamned uniform!" Scream pointed ahead of him. "Behind that berm are some Rangers who got ambushed while on patrol." Scream looked at Mrs. B. "Goddamnit, Mrs. B, pay attention. They called us out here because we're good with the shit patrols and these are the same goddamn Rangers I was with in my first go here. These men are fucking important to me. You so much as graze them with a ricocheted bullet and I'll have your asses. Understand?" The group nodded. "Good. Let's go."

Spitfire held her gun steady as she saw a figure walking towards Scream. "Ranger?" She shouted, knowing that, at least in the movie BLACK HAWK DOWN, that's how they identified themselves. No answer. "RANGER?" She yelled again. When there was no response, she fired her weapon. She heard Scream yell and she ran over to him, afraid that it was Scream she hit.


	8. Going Down Like Custer

Tariq shifted and woke up. He practically jumped when he felt a touch on his arm. "Easy, buddy. You'll be fine. Just a knock on the head. But, by the looks of it, it was more than just a knock."

"Where am I and who are you?" Tariq slowly spoke.

"I'm Corporal Allan Shaver and you're back at base camp."

"Where's everyone else?"

Shaver shrugged. "Don't know. Out there somewhere, I suppose, creating more shit for me to clean up after." There was a cynicism in Shaver's voice Tariq didn't like. "But, that's not got to do with this. We've just got to get you back out there doing your job so I can do mine."

"How long you been here, man? You're talking stupid."

"Going on 18 months, man. Got a family back home." Shaver looked at Tariq. "Do you know that my little girl just turned 2 yesterday? Where am I? Here. In this shit hole. What type of memory of Daddy is that going leave? Her daddy didn't love her because he wasn't at her party." He looked at the IV in Tariq's arm. "That's just the fucking memory I want her to have, ya know? _Happy birthday baby from Shithole Iraq._ Great card, isn't it? My son turned 5 last month. Was I there? Again, I say no. And where were you, I hear you ask. Here. Here. Nowhere but here."

Tariq sighed. _Why am I here with him rather than out in combat? I mean, shit. Combat's more uplifting then this idiot._

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Dim looked through his NODs and didn't like what he saw. "This isn't good, Angel." He softly whispered. "We're going to be surrounded before we can rescue the Rangers."

Angel agreed. "We gotta do something." He leaned to his left. "Yo, Warhorse!"

Warhorse quietly crawled over to Angel. "What?

"You seen Scream?"

"He was just to the North. Why?"

"Here." Dim gave her his night vision to see.

"Shit." Warhorse remarked. "We've gotta keep quiet or we're dead." She looked around. _Apparently they don't see us. _ She thought. She laid her head low and motioned for the other two to do the same. The rebels passed by them without so much as glancing in their direction. _Thank God for these ACUs! _ Warhorse thought silently. She counted at least four by the group that walked right by the three of them. She wanted to shoot; to follow, but she didn't know how many more there were. She, Dim and Angel decided to stay low for a few more minutes before checking on the others.

Spitfire ran without care to Scream. She saw him lying motionless. _Shit! I hit HIM!_ She started to freak out when Scream reached up, put his hand on her mouth, and pulled her down.

"Shut the fuck up!" He whispered. "I didn't answer because I saw the rebel you killed coming towards me. I was getting ready to kill him, but you beat me to the goddamned punch." He looked up. "They're coming this way. They've heard something. Shit." Scream looked to see how many there were. Through his NODs, he saw 4. He looked to the East where Rangers were fighting back. He saw the signal. "Goddamnit."

"What?" Spitfire found herself scared.

"There's about 20 of them. Between us and the 2/75th, we can take them. We've got the advantage with our NODs, but they've got the surprise." He raised his weapon. "Well, if we're going to go down, what you say we go down in the manner of Custer?"


	9. The Unexpected Connection

Captain Baron and Half-Pint went into to check on Tariq. "How you doing, Soldier?"

Tariq sighed. "Shit, Sir. I've been a lot better. But, I'm not as bad as the Corporal."

Baron smiled. "Shaver's been here too long. We should have sent him home about 5 months ago, but because he's the best goddamned medic we have, they extended him. Wasn't too happy about it."

Tariq grinned. "Nah. He missed his kids' birthdays. I wouldn't be happy if missed my kids birthdays."

Captain Baron studied the young man. At lunch, his baby told him that she adored this young Soldier. "You married then, son?"

Tariq laughed. "Nah."

"You're Muslim, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Arranged marriage?"

Tariq couldn't get where the questioning was going or why it was happening. "Uh, not that I'm aware of. My parents are in Detroit and, other than the religion, they adopted the American way of life." Suddenly Tariq shuddered. "With everything that's going on, I worry about them. When I joined, it was because of 9/11. I wanted people to see that…"

"Get some rest, son. You'll need it." Captain smiled. Outside, he grinned broadly at his daughter. "So, he's single. He's Muslim. But, I'll see about making sure that, during your deployment here, you're near that team." He then became serious. "But, if I hear of any behavior that is unbefitting of an officer's daughter, I will string you by your toenails. You hear me, Courtney Grace?"

"I hear you, Sir."

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Scream swore at the medic. "Watch it you goddamn idiot. That fucking hurts!" Scream had not noticed that he was hit until about five minutes earlier. The bullet went in and out his bicep.

"Goddamn it, Staff. Hold still or I can't stitch it and you won't be able to use this arm again." The medic replied.

"Bullshit, Shaver. I'll be able to use my fucking arm again. You say that to all the fucking wounded, don't you?"  
Shaver made a mental note of the Sergeant's name. _Silas. Shit. Hope I never have to run into this screaming asshole again…EVER! _ He cut the last piece of thread. "There you go. All done." As the Corporal was putting his stuff down, Scream slapped the back of his head. Shaver glared at the Sergeant. "What the fuck was that for?"

"You ever speak to me again like I'm some sort of goddamned two year old, I'll have your head for breakfast. You understand me, asshole?" Scream stood up.

"Yes, sir."

"I ain't no goddamned officer, Corporal. I'm a goddamned Staff Sergeant. Don't EVER call me sir again!"

Shaver said nothing, but rolled his eyes.

Shark ran over to Scream and gave him a hug. "Thank God you're alright."

Scream laughed. "Just yesterday, you were blaming me for Kevin's death."

Shark wiped some tears. "I still do, but I don't hate you. If you had been killed, I would have more guilt than you could ever imagine. Besides, I don't want to make the call."

"They'd be okay. They know this is my life." Scream walked with his arms around Shark's shoulders. "It's okay, Jen. It's okay."

"It's because this is your life they disowned you."

"Was what happened yesterday, the ambush, was that what it was…?"

Scream stopped. "The only thing different is no one died today." He looked at Shark. "If I could do it all again, I'd trade places with him."

Shark looked at him. _Are those tears? Is Chris Silas ACTUALLY crying? _ "I know. I know. I just haven't been able to work through the grief of losing him."

Scream nodded. "It's been a rough year. I've spent a lot of time worrying about you. I knew you got to attend the funeral. I'm just sorry I couldn't."

"You were here, Chris."

"I should have been there. For his family. For you. I mean, goddamnit, Jen. You're all the family I've got left anymore."

Shark smiled at her older brother. "I know. And I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
